Clean and Simple Card for My Niece

Hello Everyone - I hope you are well. Well, I've finished my extra busy stint at work - our Office Manager has been on leave for 3 and a half weeks, and I've been covering for her as well as doing my own work, and so I've had to work 5 days a week instead of 4! But I have a day off tomorrow as the children have finished school for the long summer break today - it only seems like last week that they were starting the school year in September! Then I'll be working 3 days a week instead of 4 through the school holidays.

I've also been busy at home this last week making presents for the teachers and teaching assistants which has meant late nights - but I'll show you all those goodies another day. I am feeling pretty shattered at the moment, and I'm looking forward to a lie in tomorrow (I'll be lucky probably - not LOL!).

Today I want to show you the card I made for my niece who was 6 on Monday - I hope you had a lovely birthday Caitlyn.



Sorry, it's not the best photo - the image looks kind of squashed up somehow - it didn't look quite that bad IRL.

The image is a digi by Wags n Whiskers, called Snuzzle Love - I bought it from Bunny Zoe's Crafts. I chose her as I think she looks just like my niece, and my niece often has some kind of a cuddly toy with her. I tried to colour her hair like Caitlyn's. She's been coloured with Promarkers. I cut the image out, so that I could emboss the mat to sit her on using 3D glue (the mat was die cut using a Spellbinders scalloped circle die)- the embossing folder I used is a small one which was free with a Do Crafts magazine. I just love the gingham paper - printed from a Cute Companions CD.

Unfortunately, I don't have much luck with papers I've printed - this card was standing on the table drying as I had to use wet glue at my Mum's to stick the insert inside the card. I forgot I'd left it there, and then spotted Eleri dunking her sweets into her glass of water! - she'd blinking well splashed the card with only one tiny drop of water, but it splodged the gingham paper. There was absolutely nothing I could do about it though as I was at my Mum's and I was leaving the card there for Caitlyn - I just hope it wasn't showing up too much! I had thought about spraying the paper with a Crafters Companion spray but I decided not to - I'm going to always spray papers that I print from now on - lesson learned!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Sweet Stampin Challenge - Cute and Cuddly - I hope my cute little girl cuddling her teddy counts
Kaboodle Doodles Challenge - Use those Scissors - I cut the image out to give it a bit of dimension
Digital Tuesday - Spellbound - the mat was cut using a Spellbinders die, and the flowers are a die as well, the only set of flower dies I have, and I really must buy some more!

Well, that's enough waffle from me. I really should be back soon as I do have another card to show you and the teachers' presents. I think I'm going to do a bit of jewellery making tonight - I'm developing another addiction, and getting butterflies whilst watching the Jewellery Maker channel on TV - I would love to buy so much from there too! You never know, I might just show you some jewellery I've made soon.

Love, Andrea xx

A Wedding Card

Hello Everyone

I don't know, I just can't get my 'arris' into gear at the moment! I feel pretty awful that I forgot it was my sister in law's birthday on Friday and so had not made her a card. Luckily, Richard remembered first thing in the morning and, unusually for me, I had a couple of cards made up in a box so we were able to give her a handmade card - pheew!! I knew I should have been making a card for someone!

But I did manage to make a wedding card for my cousin who got married yesterday - Congratulations to Ceri and James! They got married in a beautiful little church, which had a woodland walk down to it, and there was bunting tied to the trees along the path - it really was a stunning setting. Anyway, here's the card:



A very simple card, but I liked the way it turned out. I didn't use any designer papers, just pearlescent card. I embossed the white with a Cuttlebug folder, called Kimmy's Love I think. I added little dots with promarkers around the edge of the image, to look a little like confetti. Then added stickles around the edge of it. I'm not sure what make the flowers are - I bought a bunch from my local craft store. I think the pearlescent brads are Papermania. I used lilac and white organza ribbon to make the bow.

I followed the Mojo Monday sketch, and am also entering the following challenges:

The Paper Shelter which is Anything Goes
Do You Stack Up which is Squares

I'm having real difficulty leaving comments on some blogs at the moment - is anyone else having the same problems? It is as if I haven't signed into blogger and it keeps asking me to sign in again when I try to publish my comment, but it will not accept that I have done - so annoying! And why is it only on some blogs? Anyway, stop moaning, best go and check on the chicken - it's smelling good!

I will have to make a card for my niece this week, so I hope I will have another card to show you sometime soon. I really ought to make some little gifts for teachers at school, but I can't muster the motivation for that at the moment either! Crikey, I sound like a right whinge bucket at the moment - sorry folks!

See you soon.

Love, Andrea xx

Cards for Pep!!!

Hello Everyone

I hope you've had a lovely day today. We've had a lovely family Father's Day today - went shopping to buy some trousers for Andrew to take on his school camping trip in a couple of weeks' time, and also bought Eleri some new crocs. We were also looking for a new bicycle for Andrew, but we haven't decided what to get yet - we know what size to look for though! Then we went for lunch at Pizza Hut - that was lovely. And visited my Mum and Dad on the way home. Also called at Richard's Dad's on the way home, but he wasn't in.

My Dad makes me laugh LOL! I gave him his Father's Day card today. He was opening it whilst I was doing the tea/coffee run, and I heard roars of laughter coming from the other room. Apparently, my Dad had opened his card and thought to himself "Pep, what on earth does that mean - has she given me a pep pill or something?". And then he realised what he'd done and thought it was so funny, and he told everyone 'cos he can't keep something like that to himself! So I just had to show you as well:



He was only holding it upside down ROFL!! My Dad has a wonderful sense of humour and such a wicked laugh! As we were leaving he said to me "Thanks for your card And, it really pepped me up!", and then he had another belly laugh!

This is what the card should have looked like - I actually made the same cards for my Dad and for Richard's Dad - I hope John doesn't think I'm giving him a pep pill! LOL!



I'm entering these cards in the following challenges:

The Paper Shelter - punches and dies
Incy Wincy Designs - Father's Day/Masculine

It's also my Dad's birthday tomorrow, so this is his birthday card:



For the background of the image, I masked the image and then used a HOTP stitches stamp to make a stitched effect background, and just did some random dots around the edge as it looked a bit too plain.

I would like to enter this card in the Little Red Wagon challenge which is for Dad. And I followed the sketch on Inspirational Card Sketches challenge this week.

You would probably like me to stop waffling now. And I need to go to bed anyway - to be honest, I haven't been feeling too well this weekend, have a sore throat, been sneezing, and have a blocked and runny nose (how can they both happen at the same time LOL!? Sorry, that's maybe too much information!). Anyway, I'm normally very lucky and shake colds off very quickly, in fact they don't normally get as far as the sneezing stage etc - so hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow feeling fine!

Hope to see you again soon.

Love, Andrea xx

For My Niece

Hello Everyone - I hope you've had a good weekend! Mine was pretty good - Saturday was our local carnival, and the heavens opened just as the procession was about to start but it did not last too long so we were able to watch it without getting wet. The afternoon brightened up though. Normally, we take a picnic but it just wasn't picnic weather on Saturday so we went for a McDonald's instead - I can't remember that last time I had a McDonald's, probably about 2 years ago because I'm not normally too keen to be honest, but I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. The children only have them about 3 or 4 times a year, so they enjoyed theirs too. Then we had a little meander around the show, watched the young children dancing, ate ice cream, and Eleri spent some money on a rubbish toy LOL!

Then on Saturday evening I managed to make some jewellery - I made a necklace, earrings and bracelet set for myself, and made a pair of earrings and started a bracelet for a friend for her birthday. I think I need to practice attaching the bolt ring clasps and using the crimp beads as I have something sharp that's scratched the back of my neck a bit - I think it's because I haven't got a proper wire cutters and it's the way I've cut the wire. Think I need to get a file to try to do something about it. I'll try to photograph the set to show you.

Yesterday, there was supposed to be an air show near to us. The Red Arrows were due to fly at about 10.30 in the morning but, when I heard the rain thumping down at about 7.30, I decided to stay in bed and read for a while instead! Apparently, they did do their demonstration though! They flew past my brother's house in formation on their way to the show. My niece was so happy - she thought they were doing a flypast for her, just like the one she saw on TV for the Queen on Saturday (aawww! lol!)

Then last night, Eleri and I put together a mini album of holiday photos for her to take to show at school - we've put them onto luggage labels and fastened them together with some coloured paper thread - very simple but looks quite effective, and it went down well at school today.

Anyway, I need to stop waffling, and get to the real reason for my post. Another niece of mine was 3 last Friday, so I'm showing the card I made for her.



The image is an Elisabeth Bell stamp from Funky Kits - coloured with promarkers. The papers are MME Quite Contrary Summer - this card was much more vibrant IRL - maybe I've got a smudge on my camera lens again LOL! I followed the sketch from last Tuesday Morning Sketches, but darn it our internet connection went down last night so I couldn't post it in time to enter that challenge.

I'm entering it in the following challenges:

Totally Papercrafts - Summer - papers were called Summer and I think the image is quite summery
Do You Stack Up - Birthday
Crafty Purple Frog - Favourite Things - I love Elisabeth Bell images, I've used some of my favourite papers (but not many left in the stack now!), and I'm loving the paper thread I've used, and I also love the diamond stickles.

There you go - sorry for going on LOL! Now, I've got to work out what to do for 3 Father's Day cards and my Dad's birthday card - I'm struggling on those!

Love, Andrea xx

Dad's Birthday

Hello Again

Just a quick post to show you the card we gave to my husband's Dad for his birthday.



I won this stamp in a draw a little while ago and this is the first time I've stamped him up - I think it's a High Hopes stamp. He's coloured with promarkers. A very simple card using Kay and Co papers again.

I know that there are a few challenges out there for Fathers Day or cards for Dad at the moment but do you think I can find one this evening? Ne'mind! I'll enter it in the Drunken Stampers challenge which is birthdays.

With Father's Day and my Dad's birthday coming up in the next week or so, I'm going to have some more men's cards to show you soon, but it is my niece's 3rd birthday today so I'll be able to show a girlie card tomorrow.

See you then.

Love, Andrea xx

Skater Boy

Hello Folks

Well - I'm feeling so much better today - I think I've had a smile on my face for some of this morning - that's not been happening much lately! Things have been so stressful at work in the last couple of months - our Chief Officer left last week, and nothing has yet been done about a replacement for him, but we are hoping to have some news by the end of this week. And I managed to get through a public meeting last night - thankfully, I don't have to stand up in front of an audience, but I'm the one who organised it, and it is always a relief when it's over, with nothing major going wrong - just have pages of notes to type up from it! I think it is the stress that has put me off crafting lately - I know it helps some people to get down and crafty - but I find it very difficult to motivate myself to do anything or to focus on things when I'm stressed. Hopefully, I'll be able to get myself moving a bit more now - or maybe that's all just an excuse for pure laziness LOL!

Anyway, I managed to make a card for my son to give to one of his friends yesterday, and I was really pleased with it. Sorry about the photo though - it's not your eyes - I was rushing to take it before Andrew was taking it to his friend, and it looks very blurred!




The digital image is Jenson Skater from Pollycrafts and I've coloured him with promarkers. The papers are all from a huge Kay and Co stack I have. I've used some paper thread, and added a peel off sentiment and a few stars. I cut around the image and used silicone glue to add him on to the card - I was trying to make it look as though he has jumped out of a tunnel - it does look quite effective in real life!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly which is Anything Goes
Digital Tuesday which is In the Garden or Outdoors - I hope skateboarding counts as outdoors!

Oh - do you remember a couple of posts ago I said I had become addicted to the Jewellery Maker tv channel? (Sky 655) - well, I have surcumbed and ordered some jewellery kits - waiting for one to arrive today - and I hope to be able to show you some jewellery I make shortly! I've got a few ideas going around in my head at the moment but I'm not sure if they'll work - we'll see!

Better do some housework now though, so see you soon I hope.

Love, Andrea xx

I'm Back!!

Helloooo Everyone - well, I'm back in blogland!

We've had our holiday - went away on 23rd May and got back last weekend - boy, those few days went so quickly! We went to Porthcawl in South Wales - we had a lovely time, but the weather wasn't brilliant - it was not warm enough for Andrew and Eleri to go in the sea, which they were a bit disappointed with, but we've promised to take them to the beach later in the summer.

And, since we've been home, we've had problems with our computer - the power lead went kaput! New lead arrived yesterday but it was my turn to do cricket teas yesterday - I find that so stressful! Over with for another year though, thank goodness!

Well, we've had two birthdays this week - my brother was 40 on Wednesday, and my father-in-law had his birthday yesterday.

So here's the card I made for my brother - I've used a Whiff of Joy Party Animals stamp, and coloured him with promarkers - I really need to practice colouring with black! I followed last week's Sweet Stop sketch but could not post it in time to enter the challenge. It was a very simple card, because my mojo has been missing for weeks now. The papers are Kay and Co.



I also stamped part of the image on a mat for the inside - I like the way this looks, and I think I'll do this more often.



I'm going to enter this in Lexi's Creations which is Father's Day or a Man's Card.

Well, must go, Richard wants the computer, and he's eating scones with cream and strawberries, and I really want one! Mmmmmmmm! See ya!

Love, Andrea xx